


Sinking ship

by AnselaJonla



Series: Prompt fills [30]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-16 00:56:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21499204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnselaJonla/pseuds/AnselaJonla
Summary: A fic written for a prompt on the r/WritingPrompts subreddit:[WP] You already ordered the crew to abandon ship. You, and your remaining 2 officers, have to keep the guns, water pumps, and engines working as long as possible on the sinking and damaged ship. The battle is already lost, but maybe you can prevent a massacre, by giving your crew time to escape.
Series: Prompt fills [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1097823





	Sinking ship

"XO, order all hands to abandon ship. I want two volunteers to man the pumps."

As everyone stopped in disbelief and stared, I growled under my breath.

"I said _abandon ship_. Comms, put out the signal before you leave. And strike the flag, make damn sure those bastards know we're done for."

They probably already know, that last hit was pretty bad, but until it's formally declared on our end they'll keep firing at us. Their captain can't take our crippling for granted, for the sake of _his_ crew.

I see fluttering outside the window, as all the ship's flags fall to the deck. The lifeboats swing out from the side, each one laden with men. One last shell crashes into the sea just beyond my crippled ship, and then nothing more. It's a welcome relief from the relentless barrage that we had previously endured.

_"Engines to bridge,"_ the intercom crackles. _"All engineering crew are gone. It's just myself and my second down here, making sure the pumps keep working."_

I nod, and acknowledge the message. I can see the enemy ship in the distance, turning towards us. Is her captain going to come close and finish us off, or will he abide by the law of the sea and rescue my men from their lifeboats?

My ship groans and lurches under me. Men are thrown from the side, and the lifeboats swing precariously in their cranes. I can see my XO, now directing men to the boats. The ship's cat is sitting on his shoulder, like an oversized and malformed parrot.

More groans, more lurches. My ship is sinking. I can't stop it.

The enemy ship has come to. I can see the ladders dangling from her side. Her captain is a decent sort then. My crew are safe, as long as none of them try anything stupid. Me, I'll go down with the ship, as a captain should.

And if my crew have to spend the rest of the war in a British POW camp, better there than the bottom of the sea.


End file.
